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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was drafted by Henry Clay and passed by Congress, & it was a resolve that helped divided states as being free, slave, & popular sovereignty. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders, but as the voting started, violent fighting between anti- & pro-slavery groups broke out, and became known as Bleeding Kansas -
Scott v Sanford
A slave named Dred Scott was owned by his master and lived with him in various free states. Scott sued for his own freedom by arguing that living in a free state makes me a free man. The US Supreme later ruled that since slaves were property, their owners have the right to take them into free states & territories, and they couldn't be free just by being in a free state/territory. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
An abolitionist named John Brown was planning a rebellion against the South by raiding a federal armory and stealing the weapons in the armory and giving it to slaves so they could fight back. Unfortunately, his raid failed, and was captured & executed. -
1860 Presidential Election
It was a election to decide who would be the 16th president of the United States and although he wasn't on the ballot in many southern states, Abraham Lincoln won. -
Confederate States of America
Many southern states were very upset about Lincoln winning the election and because of it, South Carolina, Mississippi, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, & Florida seceded the US, and formed their own nation called the Confederate States of America. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter was a Union-controlled fort in Confederate territory near Charleston, South Carolina. When President Lincoln ordered supplies to the fort, he finds out the Confederates took over the fort, and claimed it was their fort. The Union soldiers attacked the fort, but the Confederates had more gunfire than them, and they won after 33 hours. This event was the beginning of the Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (also known as Battle of Manassas) was the first major battle of the Civil War. The Union and the Confederates were battling at Manassas, Virginia, in the morning. General McDowell ordered the Union to attack, and although they were a superior number of Union soldiers, Confederate General Johnston ordered a lot of his reinforcements by railcar, and the Confederates won again. -
Battle of Shiloh
How the Battle of Shiloh started was when the Confederates attacked in the morning, surprising the Union army. Because of the surprise attack, the Union could only hold one area, which was nicknamed the "Hornet's Nest" because the zipping bullets in the area sounded like angry hornets. This led to the death of General Johnston, and it allowed the Union to buy enough time to get the reinforcements that they were waiting for. This battle became the Union's first victory in the war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Confederate General Robert E. Lee led his troops north towards Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. As the battle started, the Union had 94,000 soldiers while the Confederates had 72,000. The battle lasted for two days, and on the last day, 15,000 Confederates launched an all or nothing attack, known as "Pickett's Charge", and planned to storm the Union defenses. The Union won the battle, and because that the Confederates lost 1/3 of their army, Lee wanted to resign his position, but was refused. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
The South was barely hanging on their war effort because of the troop losses, and Union General Sherman made sure the South's defeat would be certain, so he led 100,000 Union troops to Atlanta, Georgia to take control of it, and ordered another 60,000 to Savannah. Along the way. they destroyed everything in their path. His actions were known as "total war", which is an all-out attack to ensure a victory, and ordinary rules in the war are suspended to destroy the morale & spirit of the enemies. -
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Reconstruction Amendments
They guaranteed freedom & less discrimination to former slaves & contained the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments. The 13th abolished slavery for good, the 14th gave African American citizenship & protection, and the 15th gave every man, whether white or black, the right to vote. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Six days after the the Union's victory in the Civil War, President Lincoln was watching the play "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater with his wife, but while he was watching it, a Confederate sympathizer and actor named John Wilkes Booth broke into the theater, went up to the balcony Lincoln was in, & shot him directly in the back of the head. Lincoln died the next day, and the vice-president, Andrew Johnson, was sworn into office as the 17th president immediately. -
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a group that was created by six Confederate troops from Tennessee and their goal is to drive out republicans, return blacks to slavery, & return southern whites to power. They still exist to this day, & they are known for their uniform, which contains a white robe and white mask. -
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were passed and they enforced segregation of blacks & whites in public places in the southern United States. Those laws endured racism, poverty, & segregation until the 1950's in which it was ended by Martin Luther King Jr.
